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Etiquette question: when do you pick up golf balls you find on the course?

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BamBooBender

BamBooBender

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The thread about finding vs buying made me think of this and I didn't want to go OT, as I often do.

My dad taught me not to pick up balls that I came across on the course unless I found some while retrieving mine out of a water hazard, or in the OB deep grass, etc. If the ball was in the rough, and especially in the fairway then leave it be. I still follow the same guidelines.

There have been more than a few times in recent years where I hit my drive into an adjoining fairway/rough, only to find it missing when I got there.


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I always leave it. I get sick of these freaking douche bags at the course that see a ball in the fairway and just pocket it. It never occurs to them that maybe that's my ball that i managed to pull over the trees into the next fairway.
 
If I don't see anyone, literally no one around that could have even a 0.1% chance of hitting a ball in that area, it's mine.
 
wubears71 said:
I always leave it. I get sick of these freaking douche bags at the course that see a ball in the fairway and just pocket it. It never occurs to them that maybe that's my ball that i managed to pull over the trees into the next fairway.
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There are some dbags, but I think more often it's just that some people don't know any better.

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BamBooBender said:
There are some dbags, but I think more often it's just that some people don't know any better.

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Bingo.
 
Very rare I will pick one up to be honest. If I am helping someone look for their ball in the trees at my home course there are a couple of places where I know that nobody else could have been playing to that point so if I find one I will see if they want it, otherwise I will just leave them
 
I rarely pick up a ball. If I find one in the rough or fairway I check go see if anyone is playing the the other hole and then try to help them by pointing out the ball, if I don't see anyone I'll just leave it usually
 
Germerican said:
If I don't see anyone, literally no one around that could have even a 0.1% chance of hitting a ball in that area, it's mine.
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Pretty much what I go by also.
 
I play a course where there are essentially zero opportunities for a player to have a ball in play on a different fairway.

I do not ever pick up a ball that is on short grass.

I will pick up balls in the desert, water. woods, etc. if I find one. Although I have gotten better at leaving balls lying, for the next guy.
 
Never. If it is not my ball, I leave it there.
 
I have no ambition on the course to look at balls I may come across. There could be a ball in the fairway with no one around and I'd keep on driving. I watch where mine goes and go straight to it. And to be perfectly honest and not sound snotty, I play one ball, the ones you typically come across or find out in the long grass or hazards or wherever are junk. And lastly, if I hit a ball in the water or o.b. it's staying there without even thinking twice about it. There is absolutely nothing worse than playing with people that walk the o.b. or drive over to the water to see if they can get a few balls. SIGH..........
 
Never. I dont pick up or play any balls that are not my own. Thats some bad juju.
 
I'll leave it bc you never know. I don't need golf balls that bad to pick up random balls I find
 
Never pick them up for myself. Generally, if it's in an area that it's obviously a lost ball, I'll move it to an area where someone behind, who may need it more than myself, has the opportunity to pick it up.
 
If I know for sure there is no possible way it could be anyone else's, I usually toss it under a tree or somewhere that someone else can take it if they want.
 
I depends on the situation for me. Even if it's on the fairway, if there is no one around the ball had to be left behind on my home courses on most holes due to all the woods. So generally I will pick it up. I typically won't play it and will give what I find to other people or use them for attempts at ridiculous shots during scramble tournaments.
 
BamBooBender said:
My dad taught me not to pick up balls that I came across on the course unless I found some while retrieving mine out of a water hazard, or in the OB deep grass, etc. If the ball was in the rough, and especially in the fairway then leave it be. I still follow the same guidelines.

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Ditto ... except it was my uncle who taught me this etiquette, not my father.
 
I dont. You never know whether or not someone is trying to find that ball and it just spares the possibility for drama.
 
I only pick up pro v1. It happens like once a year. Of course, I look around and make sure it is no ones ball.
 
I don't find many balls just sitting in the open so no temptation.
 
I hardly even pay attention to other balls on the course anymore. I did used to find a lot of premium, brand new looking, balls at the golf course in Spread Eagle. I know no one was looking for them because often I was the only one there playing in the late afternoon. I thought it was strange that people would play balls like that and not really look for them, but apparently they did.

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The only time I pick up a ball is if it's on a links style course, when there's no way it can be anything other than lost. I know that I have hit three fairways over before, but sometimes I get nervous about someone picking up my ball when I hit it into the next fairway over!

If it has dirt clods on it, it's probably a safe bet it's been there a while, so I might pick up one of those if it's a ball I play and it's in good shape.
 
Rarely ever pick up a ball. I've had mine scooped up too many times to possibly do it to someone else.
 
I just roll on by...
 
I won't pick up a ball if there are others around that potentially could have hit it. If playing a tournament, I never pick up a ball, regardless of how obvious it may seem that it's an abandoned ball.
 
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